Story Missouri has been finding their way along so far. Big guy probably going to be helpful for them.
Good veteran guards.
Missouri coach Dennis Gates believes experiencing early adversity can help his team grow this season.
So the Tigers blended more early tests into the standard mix of nonconference mismatches.
“I want to throw our guys into a high level of competition,” Gates said before the season. “Our entire schedule is built a certain way to have an ebb-and-flow response. I believe it will help us in the long run.”
Gates certainly has created ebb and flow.
After outscoring Arkansas-Pine Bluff 101-79 in their opener, the Tigers suffered an ugly 70-55 loss to Memphis at Mizzou Arena on Friday. They regrouped Monday with a 68-50 victory over SIU Edwardsville, but now, they must hit the road to face Minnesota.
The Golden Gophers have earned lopsided victories over Bethune-Cookman (80-60) and UTSA (102-76). But they were also picked last in the Big Ten preseason media poll, so it's not like the Tigers will be up against Kansas or Illinois just yet.
Missouri came into the season citing the Final Four as its stated goal. But against Memphis, the team looked like a First Four team at best.
That gave Gates and his players plenty to go over.
“Recovering from mistakes and having awareness, I believe it does help our confidence,” Gates said during his postgame news conference Monday. “Being able to identify those things in film the next day when you debrief allows guys to move forward. It’s an emotional game, and the emotions can get the best of you if you don’t handle them the right way.”
That’s what happened Friday. Missouri was rolling along, leading Memphis 29-15. But then their game began eroding as Memphis gained its footing.
Sean East II was having a fabulous first half until he launched a transition 3-pointer from Nick Honor distance. The shot rimmed out, and the real trouble began.
Aidan Shaw took a silly defensive foul away from the ball. John Tonje got jammed up in the lane. Caleb Grill missed a 3-point shot.
Jesus Carralero Martin made an errant back-door pass, then committed an immediate foul. Grill missed another 3-pointer. Honor fouled Memphis guard Jaykwon Walton while trying to prevent a steal.
Noah Carter missed a 3-point shot. Memphis switched to a 1-3-1 zone, and Jordan Butler missed a 3-point jumper. So did Grill, again. East tried an ambitious step-back 3-pointer and missed.
Missouri escaped the half with a 33-26 lead. This gave the Gates and his staff time to settle the troops for the second half — but things only got worse after the break.
The veteran, transfer-laded Memphis team came together during the course of the game. It hounded Missouri on defense and crashed the boards for second and third offensive opportunities.
Missouri, meanwhile, remained unglued. Gates tried many combinations, but none worked. Veterans struggled. Freshmen struggled. All 13 players Gates called on contributed to the loss.
Tamar Bates came in, turned the ball over and missed a 3-pointer. Trent Pierce turned the ball over and missed two 3-pointers. Carter missed shot after shot in the paint.
Add it all up and Memphis enjoyed a 54-24 run while Missouri failed to respond. That collapse gave the squad much to reflect on.
“We want to turn losses to lessons,” Gates said. “We don’t want it to be a loss; we want it to be a lesson. We want to learn as soon as we get the opportunity to learn. We don’t want to repeat certain actions. We want to be able to move forward and make sure guys are able to execute those game plans.”
The Tigers began applying those lessons against SIU-Edwardsville, which was picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars went to Dayton for their opener and led for most of the first half before the Flyers wore them down.
Then they came to Boone County and played the Tigers tough through the first half, led by relentless guard Damarco Minor.
The Tigers used a smaller lineup against the undersized Cougars, starting Tonje and Carter at forward after starting Martin in the first two games.
("Free Connor Vanover!" Gates exclaimed afterward. The Tigers will need the 7-foot-5 center to make an impact now that he has completed his three-game NCAA suspension.)
Missouri struggled offensively in the first half, dribbling too much and passing too little. The Tigers got in sync in the second half with freshman point guard Anthony Robinson helping run the offense.
East played under control. Carter battled on the boards. Tonje played his first significant minutes. So did Curt Lewis. Grill hit both of his 3-point attempts after working some intensive shooting drills between games.
Shaw flashed hints of a low-post game. Butler got some run. Everybody stepped up their defensive effort to make life miserable for the Cougars, who went much of the second half without making a basket.
So the Tigers took a step while preparing for the bigger challenges ahead. Gates still has much sorting to do while searching for the right player rotation.
“It takes a while to get to that next side, or the other side,” Gates said. “I’m just excited about where our mentality is.”
Linked Story:
COLUMBIA, Mo. — In terms of personnel, they were just two of 11. But on the scoreboard, their presence occupied a far greater proportion.
Point guard Sean East II and forward Noah Carter were responsible for 35 of the 68 points scored by Missouri men’s basketball in a win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Monday night. In percentage terms, they were 18.2 percent of the players on the floor for the Tigers and 51.5 percent of the scoring.
East scored 20 while Carter notched 15 and 10 rebounds, good for a double-double on his 23rd birthday.
“(Carter) wanted me to leave him in the game,” Mizzou coach Dennis Gates said. “He was celebrating on that 10th rebound. He was hunting that rebound and he knew he had nine.”
East was MU’s top-scorer for the third consecutive game, the first time that’s been done to open the season in 16 years.
“Sean East, to be able to come out and score 20, but not just 20 points but an effective and efficient eight for 11 from the field,” Gates said. “I thought he led us emotionally. He coached.”
Wait. The Tigers’ primary scorer was a coach?
In a sense, Gates explained. There was one particular play that he identified after the game where Carter had lined up correctly to run an offensive set — only for East to invert the play, instructing Carter to swap places with a smaller player. It netted Carter a 3-pointer and East some schematic coaching points.
“You got to have guys like that, confident enough to have the conversation,” Gates said.
Through three games — one offensive explosion, one offensive implosion and one performance that fell rather in the middle — East has scored a team-high 55 points on electric 74 percent shooting from the field. Carter is second with 44 points.
To keep the proportion trend going, that’s 99 of Mizzou’s 224 points scored so far this season, or 44 percent of the production.
East and Carter’s scoring seemed to almost be its own sort of competition during the Tigers’ takedown of the Cougars. SIUE chucked a brick — well, 16 consecutive ones — during a 16:30-long second-half cold streak, but the MU duo alternately played key roles during a more competitive first half.
Trailing by three points just over six minutes into the game, Carter made a 3-pointer. He washed, rinsed and repeated, and then repeated one more time, creating a personal nine-point run on three straight made shots from beyond the arc.
About six minutes later and down by two points, it was East’s turn. Two layups, a 3 and another layup constructed his own nine-point run. And after East had his scoring say, MU didn’t trail the rest of the way.
Both are in their fifth years of college basketball and second in Columbia. Carter started his career at Northern Iowa before transferring, while East played at UMass, Bradley and John A. Logan Community College, where he won national junior college player of the year honors, before his MU tenure.
That experience has been a factor early on.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” Carter said, “so just being able to get going into the season and get a flow, really understand the team — I’m very happy with what’s going on.”
And yes, it’s still early on.
“I’m still figuring everything out,” East said. “It’s three games in. It’s a long season. I don’t know how many games we got, but we just take it game by game. The roles are gonna change. Things are gonna be different every game.”
Gates identified East, Carter and point guard Nick Honor as the three anchors of his starting lineup before the start of the season. All three — Honor is third in scoring, third in 3-point shooting and first in assists — look up to the part.
Gates tinkered with the starting lineup around that triangular core by inserting guard John Tonje into his first five in exchange for forward Jesus Carralero Martin and later used freshman center Jordan Butler in that role out of the halftime break. Guard Caleb Grill has been the other starter.
That grouping might well change soon, starting with Missouri’s trip to Minnesota on Thursday. An early test against a Big Ten foe is an interesting one, even if the Gophers have struggled in recent years.
Center Connor Vanover, who missed the first three games of the season because of an NCAA ruling regarding his participation in an offseason showcase tournament, is eligible to return for that game. Some of the Tigers’ second-half defensive success with a more traditional center and Carter at the power forward role could suggest that Vanover will play heavily, but his role remains to be seen — and will likely fluctuate with the rest of MU’s rotation.
East, who was plenty calm and collected after his cool 20 points, leaned into that patient approach to a big early-season role.
“It’s fun right now,” he said. “We’re just enjoying it.”
Good veteran guards.
Missouri coach Dennis Gates believes experiencing early adversity can help his team grow this season.
So the Tigers blended more early tests into the standard mix of nonconference mismatches.
“I want to throw our guys into a high level of competition,” Gates said before the season. “Our entire schedule is built a certain way to have an ebb-and-flow response. I believe it will help us in the long run.”
Gates certainly has created ebb and flow.
After outscoring Arkansas-Pine Bluff 101-79 in their opener, the Tigers suffered an ugly 70-55 loss to Memphis at Mizzou Arena on Friday. They regrouped Monday with a 68-50 victory over SIU Edwardsville, but now, they must hit the road to face Minnesota.
The Golden Gophers have earned lopsided victories over Bethune-Cookman (80-60) and UTSA (102-76). But they were also picked last in the Big Ten preseason media poll, so it's not like the Tigers will be up against Kansas or Illinois just yet.
Missouri came into the season citing the Final Four as its stated goal. But against Memphis, the team looked like a First Four team at best.
That gave Gates and his players plenty to go over.
“Recovering from mistakes and having awareness, I believe it does help our confidence,” Gates said during his postgame news conference Monday. “Being able to identify those things in film the next day when you debrief allows guys to move forward. It’s an emotional game, and the emotions can get the best of you if you don’t handle them the right way.”
That’s what happened Friday. Missouri was rolling along, leading Memphis 29-15. But then their game began eroding as Memphis gained its footing.
Sean East II was having a fabulous first half until he launched a transition 3-pointer from Nick Honor distance. The shot rimmed out, and the real trouble began.
Aidan Shaw took a silly defensive foul away from the ball. John Tonje got jammed up in the lane. Caleb Grill missed a 3-point shot.
Jesus Carralero Martin made an errant back-door pass, then committed an immediate foul. Grill missed another 3-pointer. Honor fouled Memphis guard Jaykwon Walton while trying to prevent a steal.
Noah Carter missed a 3-point shot. Memphis switched to a 1-3-1 zone, and Jordan Butler missed a 3-point jumper. So did Grill, again. East tried an ambitious step-back 3-pointer and missed.
Missouri escaped the half with a 33-26 lead. This gave the Gates and his staff time to settle the troops for the second half — but things only got worse after the break.
The veteran, transfer-laded Memphis team came together during the course of the game. It hounded Missouri on defense and crashed the boards for second and third offensive opportunities.
Missouri, meanwhile, remained unglued. Gates tried many combinations, but none worked. Veterans struggled. Freshmen struggled. All 13 players Gates called on contributed to the loss.
Tamar Bates came in, turned the ball over and missed a 3-pointer. Trent Pierce turned the ball over and missed two 3-pointers. Carter missed shot after shot in the paint.
Add it all up and Memphis enjoyed a 54-24 run while Missouri failed to respond. That collapse gave the squad much to reflect on.
“We want to turn losses to lessons,” Gates said. “We don’t want it to be a loss; we want it to be a lesson. We want to learn as soon as we get the opportunity to learn. We don’t want to repeat certain actions. We want to be able to move forward and make sure guys are able to execute those game plans.”
The Tigers began applying those lessons against SIU-Edwardsville, which was picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Cougars went to Dayton for their opener and led for most of the first half before the Flyers wore them down.
Then they came to Boone County and played the Tigers tough through the first half, led by relentless guard Damarco Minor.
The Tigers used a smaller lineup against the undersized Cougars, starting Tonje and Carter at forward after starting Martin in the first two games.
("Free Connor Vanover!" Gates exclaimed afterward. The Tigers will need the 7-foot-5 center to make an impact now that he has completed his three-game NCAA suspension.)
Missouri struggled offensively in the first half, dribbling too much and passing too little. The Tigers got in sync in the second half with freshman point guard Anthony Robinson helping run the offense.
East played under control. Carter battled on the boards. Tonje played his first significant minutes. So did Curt Lewis. Grill hit both of his 3-point attempts after working some intensive shooting drills between games.
Shaw flashed hints of a low-post game. Butler got some run. Everybody stepped up their defensive effort to make life miserable for the Cougars, who went much of the second half without making a basket.
So the Tigers took a step while preparing for the bigger challenges ahead. Gates still has much sorting to do while searching for the right player rotation.
“It takes a while to get to that next side, or the other side,” Gates said. “I’m just excited about where our mentality is.”
Linked Story:
COLUMBIA, Mo. — In terms of personnel, they were just two of 11. But on the scoreboard, their presence occupied a far greater proportion.
Point guard Sean East II and forward Noah Carter were responsible for 35 of the 68 points scored by Missouri men’s basketball in a win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Monday night. In percentage terms, they were 18.2 percent of the players on the floor for the Tigers and 51.5 percent of the scoring.
East scored 20 while Carter notched 15 and 10 rebounds, good for a double-double on his 23rd birthday.
“(Carter) wanted me to leave him in the game,” Mizzou coach Dennis Gates said. “He was celebrating on that 10th rebound. He was hunting that rebound and he knew he had nine.”
East was MU’s top-scorer for the third consecutive game, the first time that’s been done to open the season in 16 years.
“Sean East, to be able to come out and score 20, but not just 20 points but an effective and efficient eight for 11 from the field,” Gates said. “I thought he led us emotionally. He coached.”
Wait. The Tigers’ primary scorer was a coach?
In a sense, Gates explained. There was one particular play that he identified after the game where Carter had lined up correctly to run an offensive set — only for East to invert the play, instructing Carter to swap places with a smaller player. It netted Carter a 3-pointer and East some schematic coaching points.
“You got to have guys like that, confident enough to have the conversation,” Gates said.
Through three games — one offensive explosion, one offensive implosion and one performance that fell rather in the middle — East has scored a team-high 55 points on electric 74 percent shooting from the field. Carter is second with 44 points.
To keep the proportion trend going, that’s 99 of Mizzou’s 224 points scored so far this season, or 44 percent of the production.
East and Carter’s scoring seemed to almost be its own sort of competition during the Tigers’ takedown of the Cougars. SIUE chucked a brick — well, 16 consecutive ones — during a 16:30-long second-half cold streak, but the MU duo alternately played key roles during a more competitive first half.
Trailing by three points just over six minutes into the game, Carter made a 3-pointer. He washed, rinsed and repeated, and then repeated one more time, creating a personal nine-point run on three straight made shots from beyond the arc.
About six minutes later and down by two points, it was East’s turn. Two layups, a 3 and another layup constructed his own nine-point run. And after East had his scoring say, MU didn’t trail the rest of the way.
Both are in their fifth years of college basketball and second in Columbia. Carter started his career at Northern Iowa before transferring, while East played at UMass, Bradley and John A. Logan Community College, where he won national junior college player of the year honors, before his MU tenure.
That experience has been a factor early on.
“This isn’t our first rodeo,” Carter said, “so just being able to get going into the season and get a flow, really understand the team — I’m very happy with what’s going on.”
And yes, it’s still early on.
“I’m still figuring everything out,” East said. “It’s three games in. It’s a long season. I don’t know how many games we got, but we just take it game by game. The roles are gonna change. Things are gonna be different every game.”
Gates identified East, Carter and point guard Nick Honor as the three anchors of his starting lineup before the start of the season. All three — Honor is third in scoring, third in 3-point shooting and first in assists — look up to the part.
Gates tinkered with the starting lineup around that triangular core by inserting guard John Tonje into his first five in exchange for forward Jesus Carralero Martin and later used freshman center Jordan Butler in that role out of the halftime break. Guard Caleb Grill has been the other starter.
That grouping might well change soon, starting with Missouri’s trip to Minnesota on Thursday. An early test against a Big Ten foe is an interesting one, even if the Gophers have struggled in recent years.
Center Connor Vanover, who missed the first three games of the season because of an NCAA ruling regarding his participation in an offseason showcase tournament, is eligible to return for that game. Some of the Tigers’ second-half defensive success with a more traditional center and Carter at the power forward role could suggest that Vanover will play heavily, but his role remains to be seen — and will likely fluctuate with the rest of MU’s rotation.
East, who was plenty calm and collected after his cool 20 points, leaned into that patient approach to a big early-season role.
“It’s fun right now,” he said. “We’re just enjoying it.”
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